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kyperformancemonthly-blog · 8 years ago

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Kentucky Pirate Festival

SHOW ME THE BOOTY! Now, I know what you’re all thinking. HOW INAPPROPRIATE! Well yes, but only if you’re not enjoying the Yo ho yo ho pirates life for me! That’s right. Pirates. Pirates, wenches and scoundrels, oh my!

On February 4th of 2017, Allwhere Entertainments, LLC held it’s very first and unique Kentucky Pirate Festival at the Tim Faulkner Gallery in Louisville. With a target audience of those who want to have a day of fun and aren’t afraid to let themselves be drawn into the atmosphere a little, The Kentucky Pirate Festival teamed with vendors selling pirate themed goods, musical acts playing sing along sea shanties, and other exciting entertainment to make sure there was a bit of fun for everyone. Volunteers and friends of the KHRF made sure to have activities that catered to both adults and children. With an adventure filled scavenger hunt, learning how to paint a pirate ship, 2 stages filled with musical talent, costume contests, and even pirate themed speed dating, every guest was smiling all night long.

Photo By David Vail

Now the big question is who could possibly think of something so unique? The two best pirates that I have had the pleasure to meet, of course. Phillip McGuinness and Captain Amos Muirhead, the two founding members of the legendary musical act, Drunk & Sailor. When interviewed, these two famous pirates told me that the idea for the Kentucky Pirate Festival stemmed from their original “February Faire Withdrawal” show that they play at the Bard’s Town.

Selfie By Phillip McGuinness

Phillip and Amos have been to other festivals quite a few times. When talking to these scurvy gents, they said that about 100-125 people showed at Bard’s Town at one of their shows, and some had to be turned away due to space issues. At that point, Phillip made the decision that more space will be needed from then on. So last year, they tried the Tim Faulkner Gallery and around 150 people came, and 50 gallery people came, approximately 200 in total, and they had room to spare. The space was so perfect for all of Drunk & Sailor’s fans and supporters, it was only fitting that the idea of the first Kentucky Pirate Festival was born.

About 6 months prior to the event, planning began. They made websites, social media pages, went out in public with posters, promos, did a TV spot, and even a radio show. “We have promoted so much, and pushed so this could be as big as possible.” Amos said. “With 8 other entertainments, volunteer acts, a decor crew, vendors, and our 1st time working with sponsors, it’s a big step up from our usual Pirate show.” And that’s exactly what it was. A big step up!

“Credit for this festival goes to Phillip” Amos says. “He wanted a bigger event, and people already come to the February show so we thought we’d invite other acts from Michigan and Florida to come perform with us. We spoke with event owners we have worked with, and got some advice and gave it a go!”

When speaking with Phillip, he made the intent of this festival very clear. “First and foremost, we just want everyone there to have a good time. That is our benchmark for success. We’d like the festival to draw more people into our local pirate community.” Tons of crowd participation, people singing and dancing, pirates meeting other pirates, and even people being introduced to the pirate scene for the very first time. I’d say they hit that benchmark.

Photo By David Vail

With that successful turn out, both Phillip and Amos have high hopes for the future of this Festival. With a spacious venue such as the Tim Faulkner Gallery, there is plenty of room for growth, and the idea of a full weekend festival has been mentioned. We can only hope to see more from Allwhere Entertainments and their amazing plans to continue with the development of the hopefully annual Kentucky Pirate Festival.

Photo By David Vail

By special request, Phillip McGuinness wants to give a few special shout outs as a thank you for all the help with this festival.

“When we hatched this plan we got a lot of great advice from our friend Jonathan Zook, who has been running the Michiana Renaissance Faire and the Indiana Pirate Festival for the past several years. Tim and Margaret at the Tim Faulkner Gallery have been very helpful as well, giving us advice and arranging parts of the event for us. Whitney Christiansen has taken it upon herself to handle all the children’s activities, for which we are very grateful.”

I’d personally also like to thank all the musical talent and entertainers who came out to this festival as well. So a big thanks to Kracker Dan, Band of Pirates, Drunk & Sailor, and Knotty Bits!!!

For more information on future endeavors of the Kentucky Pirate Festival, or if you want to follow the shenanigans to be had, there’s a few websites you can visit listed below.

Kentucky Pirate Festival - www.kypiratefest.com https://www.facebook.com/kypiratefest/

Drunk & Sailor - https://www.facebook.com/drunkandsailor/

#drunkandsailor #knottybits #pirates #festival #kypiratefest #krackerdan #bandofpirates

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